Montreal Wingstar 2000 Preview

Wingstar look to rebound after late season letup

The biggest addition by the Montreal Wingstar over the summer was former Canadian national team goalie Manon Rheaume. But she won't be strapping on the goal pads.

Rheaume will be playing forward as the Wingstar look to finish on top of the Eastern Division standings which they held most of last season, settling for second place by one point.

Back with the team is Wingstar leading scorer Caroline Ouellette. A threat everytime she steps onto the ice, she averaged better than two points per game last year.

Back with the team this year is the ageless France St-Louis. Turning 42 in October, St-Louis has been involved in every major tournament for Team Canada up to and including the 1998 Olympics in Japan. She was a force on the ice for the Wingstar, tied for second in team scoring with 28 points  recorded in an efficient 16 games.

Behind the bench, the Wingstar have Julie Healy, whose resume includes coaching at Concordia University and the national junior team.

More new faces can be found in net. Jessika Audet, who previously played for Team Quebec at the 1999 Esso Nationals and Emmanuelle Cabana, who played for the midget champion Team Quebec in 1997 will be between the pipes to start the season, taking over from last years' lineup of Josee Cholette and Marie-France Dansereau. Cholette logged the most ice-time in the league last year, playing in 31 of the team's 35 games.

A big loss is Therese Brisson on the blueline to the Mississauga Ice Bears.

In the end, nothing short of winning the NWHL Cup will make up for last year's exit from the finals.